Agenda item

6.1

The Director of Communications and Performance submitted the Quarter 2 Performance report which provided a summary of the Council’s performance for each of the eight outcome areas of the Corporate Plan and had, as an appendix, a more detailed assessment for all of the contributory outcomes within each outcome area.  The report also identified a number of performance challenges for the Committee’s consideration.

6.2

In attendance for this item were Mark Tuckett (Corporate Performance Manager), Julia Mawbey (Corporate Performance Officer) and David Campbell-Molloy (Policy Officer (Scrutiny)). 

6.3

The report was supported by a presentation given by Mark Tuckett which provided the latest picture of performance and identified specific challenges.  He also informed the Committee that Members could access more detailed information contained within the performance dashboards.

6.4

In response to Members’ questions and comments, the following responses were provided:-

·               There had been some changes with regard to the identified challenges in relation to attainment in schools, City Centre Vibrancy, Care and Support and Adoptions, but no change with regard to Homelessness.  In addition, further challenges had been identified in relation to Sickness Absence, Public Health and information regarding the City’s Business Stock.

·               Homeless people coming to the City would be included on the Council’s homelessness records. 

·               The Scrutiny and Policy Development Committees (SPDCs) had  undertaken work, on the issues identified at the last Committee meeting, as follows:-

(a)

Attainment in Schools had been looked at extensively and the Children, Young People and Family Support SPDC had received briefings on this.

(b)

Emphasis had been placed on the quality of adoption placements with two Members being made Champions with regard to this.  The Policy Officer (Scrutiny) had spoken with the appropriate officers regarding Adoptions and would report back.

(c)

Homelessness had been considered at the Safer and Stronger Communities SPDC in November and a watching brief would be maintained, with a report scheduled for presentation in six months.

(d)

In relation to City Centre Vibrancy and the Business Stock, the Economic and Environmental Wellbeing SPDC had included a session with business representatives at its September meeting.

(e)

Robert Broadhead, Head of Service, Older People’s Assessment and Care Management, was to report to the Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care SPDC in January 2013, with regard to setting a realistic and reasonable time for carrying out Care and Support assessments.

·               In relation to Attainment in Schools, it was important to recognise improvement and consider how this could be sustained.

6.5

Following this, a discussion took place on the Committee’s purpose and the way in which the SPDCs could deal with performance issues.  During this discussion, the following points were made:-

·               At the moment, individual committees were looking at performance issues, with the Healthier Communities and Adult Social Care SPDC being already aware of the blind spot in relation to Public Health performance information.

·               It was appropriate for cross-committee work to be discussed at this Committee and Sickness Absence and City Centre Vibrancy were obvious candidates for this.

·               It would not be possible to reconvene this Committee as an extra SPDC, as this would negate the savings made by reducing the number of SPDCs.  The job of this Committee was to ensure that cross-cutting and strategic issues were being addressed.

·               In the past, the Committee had looked at gaps and referred issues to the SPDCs, but this did not now appear to be necessary as individual Committees were assessing performance and addressing any issues.

·               It was suggested that the Committee should meet early in the Municipal Year, so that issues could be identified and periodically reviewed.

·               All of the issues identified at the Committee’s April meeting were being looked at by the appropriate SPDC, with the exception of one or two emerging issues.  It did seem that such issues were now being picked up by the individual Committees.

·               In view of the amount of issue based items which the Committees were dealing with, it was sometimes difficult to fit in performance issues.

·               Performance reports could be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee at a meeting early in the Municipal Year, with issues being divided into SPDC responsibilities, so that each Committee could decide how to address them.  The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee could then meet later in the year to assess progress and provide any support required.

·               It was important for Members to be able to look behind the performance information, but consideration needed to be given as to how to bring this into the Scrutiny process.

·               Councillor Gill Furniss, Chair of the Children, Young People and Family Support SPDC, suggested that the subjects of Breastfeeding and New Arrivals were worthy of consideration and Mark Tuckett agreed to meet with her in this regard.

6.6

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)

thanks Mark Tuckett for his presentation;

(b)

notes the information reported;

(c)

notes that the Chair, Councillor Chris Weldon and Councillor Penny Baker are to meet with the Policy Officer (Scrutiny) to discuss the Committee’s terms of reference and purpose; and

(d)

agrees that a report on Sickness Absence be considered at the Committee’s next meeting.